Compact visual indications of schedule saturation

Abstract

A software tool, device, and method are disclosed for displaying schedule saturation. Schedule saturation indicators on an electronic display provide compact and easily comprehended visual overviews of the schedule saturations of days, weeks, months, etc, without attempting to display hour-by-hour schedule information. For example, a half-red, half-green rectangle can indicate that a day's schedule is half full. Optimal time periods can then be expanded for appointment scheduling. Visual indications of schedule saturation can vary in degree of filling, size, orientation, configuration, location, marking density, shading, color hue, and color intensity. A plurality of time interval and schedule saturation indicators can be displayed simultaneously, individual saturation indicators can be subdivided to indicate relative amounts of saturation due to different categories of events, and available portions of time periods can be specified such that saturation indicators indicate saturation of the available portions.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The invention generally relates to tools for management of schedules and appointments, and more specifically to electronic tools for indicating and managing schedules.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Keeping track of appointment schedules is a very well known and nearly universal need. For both professional and social reasons, it is typically necessary for most individuals to keep track of activities and plans using some kind of schedule organizing tool so as to avoid schedule conflicts, and so as to ensure that planned appointments are kept.[0003]Traditional schedule management tools include printed calendars and appointment books, the pages of which present the days of a month, the days of a week, the hours of a day, and so forth, so that appointments and activities can be noted using a pen or pencil. These tools are limited in their flexibility, in that changes are difficult to make, and there is no convenient means to move from overviews of large time...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0008]A software tool and method of use thereof are claimed for displaying schedule saturation indicators on an electronic display, each schedule saturation indicator providing a compact and easily comprehended overview of the schedule saturation of a day, week, month, or some other time period. For example, in a preferred embodiment, if half of the available time in a given day is scheduled, a bar will be displayed that is half green and half red, thereby readily conveying the information that the day is “half filled.”

[0009]By not attempting to display hour-by-hour schedule information, the schedule saturation indicators of the present invention are able to provide an overview of the schedule saturation of any desired time period in a highly compact and easily understood fashion. When more detailed information is desired, a user can then use a pointing device or other appropriate means to select a time period of interest and obtain full schedule information thereof.

Problems solved by technology

These tools are limited in their flexibility, in that changes are difficult to make, and there is no convenient means to move from overviews of large time periods to detailed displays of short time periods.

For example, if schedule information is recorded in a page-per-month calendar, it can be difficult to record and see hour-by-hour appointments for a given day.

And if schedule information is recorded in a page-per-day calendar or appointment book, it can be difficult to gain an overview of an entire week or month without flipping through a plurality of pages.

However, the display areas and resolutions of electronic schedule tracking tools are limited, often being smaller than the pages of traditional calendars and appointment books.

This can require an excessive amount of time and effort, especially when there is considerable flexibility as to the choice of a day and time for the appointment.

However, these approaches are still limited in their compactness by the need to display a timeline for each day, each timeline being of sufficient dimensions to indicate the scheduling status of each hour during each displayed day.

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